Career Change - Full-time CFI: Average Flight Hours per year?

"\"T\" Tung" wrote in message . ..
Another option which I'm not sure you may have been aware of is to
apply directly to the AF Reserve or Air Guard. It is more competitive
in some ways, but sometimes even thatcan be deceiving. In my Reserve
unit (flying KC-135s), we don't really get that many applicants, and
the selection rate is therefore a bit higher...(maybe 30%).
The age limit is still the same though.

"T" Tung

I briefly checked into the Guard, but since they are usually
recruiting for a UPT slot as far as 2-3 years in the future, usually
they won't take anyone past 27-28 years old. And even then,
preference is usually given to folks already members of the unit.

When I learned, our instructors did about 100 hours a month.

It was 7 days a week, 8am to sunset Monday to Saturday, late
start at 10am on Sunday. Usually flying with 2 students, 2 lessons
each a day, 1.5-3 hours each depending on whether it was exercises
or cross-country...though it wouldn't turn out to be 4x3, more like
4x1.5, or 3x1.5 and 1x3 or something like that. Days off weren't
a problem usually if an instructor wanted it at any time as long as
his students were ok with it.

Ground school was whenever they had some free time, between
lessons or evenings, though there wasn't much ground school, mostly
just explaining and debriefing lessons. Other stuff was self-taught
mostly (read the books, watch some videos).

Paul

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...
My goodness -- forty hours a week? Even with ground school, etc., a CFI is
not going to give forty hours/week instruction under any circumstances.

You would have to be at the office 24/7 to get anywhere near that amount
of
time.

I spent seven years as a part-time CFI and three years as a full-timer,
starting at $8 an hour and "topping out" at $25 an hour.

As a part-time CFI, I usually worked with no more than five or six students at
a time, most of whom were flying twice a week. I generally averaged 300 - 500
hours of flight time per year. During the winter months, I'd be lucky to fly 20
hours a month. Summer was all the flying you could stand, and then some. (This
was in addition to my full-time job as a computer programmer, so I spent all of
my time either at work or at the airport.)

In 1997 I quit my full-time job and began instructing full time, working at a
couple of schools in Florida. During my "best" year, I flew 1170 hours and
signed off 42 students for checkrides. My gross pay that year came to about
$16,700. It was pretty common for me to spend 90-100 hours a week at the
airport. A day off was a rare luxury.

Personally, I found the part-time work to be more enjoyable. My computer job
paid the bills, so there wasn't any pressure to fly in marginal weather or to
try to see how many students I could cram into my schedule. Most of my students
at that time also worked full-time, so our schedules were compatible - we
simply flew after work or on weekends.

From a financial standpoint, the best places to work for are flying clubs and
the smaller FBO's. These generally pay the best, and you will probably have
more control over your schedule. Avoid the big "academy-style" schools.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most CFI jobs do NOT provide any type of
benefits, such as medical insurance. This can be a major consideration if you
have a family.

E. Roberts, CFI